A no-star, unranked recruit coming out of high school in 2021, Ansley Almonor recently committed to play on one of the biggest stages and for one of the most successful programs in college basketball, the University of Kentucky.
“I never could have predicted it, not in a million years,” Almonor told Kentucky Insider in an interview. “It’s crazy.”
When Almonor says crazy, he has been a part of crazy. A starter for the 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson team that upset 1-seeded Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, he (6-7, 219 lbs) defended National Player of the Year Zach Edey (7-4, 300 lbs).
What has been the crazier experience between being part of one of the biggest upsets in sports and committing to Kentucky? The latter Almonor says, already feeling the love of the Big Blue Nation. “You can feel the love from the community everywhere you go. So many people have reached out to me on social media. So many followers. Fans going to bat for me like their lives are dependent on it. It’s surreal.”
The path to Kentucky hasn’t been easy and it started in New York, where he was raised by Haitian parents. “It definitely shaped me as a player and person,” he said of growing up in The Big Apple. “Everything over there you got to earn. They don’t give you nothing. You have to go out and earn it. Every game is a fight. Everybody is tough. You have to be tough and take what you want.”
One thing he wanted as a kid was to one day play for the University of Kentucky, even having a picture of the Kentucky logo hanging on the front of his bed as a daily reminder and source of motivation. However, coming out of high school that dream looked bleak, having few options to choose from before signing with Farleigh Dickinson. “I wasn’t recruited at all. I wasn’t a big-time recruit in high school. I wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
Over the course of three seasons, he did. As a freshman, Almonor came off the bench, averaging less than ten minutes per game on a 4-win Fairleigh Dickinson team. As a sophomore, he was named NEC Most Improved Player of the Year en route to helping the Knights to their first NCAA Tournament win. As a junior, he earned All-NEC First Team honors as the team’s leading scorer and best shooter, averaging 16.4 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting .394 from 3-point range.
Despite those efficient numbers, Almonor didn’t have many Power schools calling when he entered the transfer portal. According to some, he even gave Sienna a verbal commitment. That quickly changed when Kentucky assistant Jason Hart, with his “Cali swag”, sent him an email.
“Coach Hart emailed me and it was surreal,” Almonor said. “I almost thought it was fake at first. The next day I spoke to the coaching staff, and it went from there.”
Just a few days later, Almonor arrived in Lexington for a visit. Coming from Fairleigh Dickinson, where the team had gotten stuck in an elevator, and had watched film in a cinderblock shower room, with a projector that rested on a Gatorade bucket, he was in awe.
“It was almost night and day,” Almonor said. “Those schools have pretty good facilities for that level, but Kentucky’s facilities are second to none. They treat their players like pros. Everything over there was top-notch. Literally, every single thing.”
The highlight of the visit though, Rupp Arena. “Everything about it. The arena, the seats, the size of it, the locker room. Everything.”
This is also where Mark Pope made one of his pitches to Almonor.
“I didn’t realize how big it was in there,” he said. “He (Pope) took us to the very top seats and had us look down below and asked, ‘Could you see yourself playing here, with this place being full from the very top, all the way down to the bottom?’”
That is when Almonor said he started to imagine an arena full of 20,500+ members of the Big Blue Nation, cheering for him. “It’s just a crazy, surreal experience when you’re in that building to imagine that. It’s just crazy. It gives you chills.”
From there, Almonor was shown the locker room where he got to put on a Kentucky jersey for the first time. “Putting on the jersey, that was really the craziest experience. Not only for me, but for my family and friends. Them seeing me in a Kentucky jersey, that’s crazy for them to think about.”
Now it’s no longer crazy, it’s no longer a dream. Instead of having the Kentucky logo hanging on his bed, Ansley Almonor will be wearing it across his chest and he isn’t taking that lightly.
“Coach Pope is taking a chance on me,” Almonor said. “I come from a small school, but people don’t know where I come from. What I have been through. I know what it takes to play at Kentucky, to play on this level. I belong here, this isn’t a fluke. I got to go out there and prove everybody wrong. Not even just personally, people are saying we aren’t going to be that good of a Kentucky team. Our goal is to hang banner #9. We got to go out there and prove it to them.”
Other Questions
Coach Pope has great energy and is very relatable. That’s something I have heard from other coaches and old friends of his. You as a player, how does he show that energy and relatability?
His energy is just very outgoing. I feel like he never goes to sleep. He answers my texts like 4 AM, 6 AM. His energy, you feed off him just being around him.
He likes to tell stories. He’s funny. He’s honest. He’s just like a really good guy to be around. He always has a story to tell because he has been through so much. He’s been a lot of places, coaching-wise, and as a player he’s been where you want to go so he’s got a lot of advice and knowledge.
You played the five spot a lot at FDU. Do you expect to play a similar role at Kentucky? What kind of style has the staff talked about playing?
Definitely the four spot. He (Pope) wants me to come in here and make open shots, move the ball, and be able to play with the ball in my hands. I feel like I fit in perfectly with my skill set.
When the staff was recruiting me, they were telling me how good of a fit they thought I was. Him showing me film and where he sees me and stuff, I feel like it’s the perfect it. I don’t think there is another team in the country that I fit this perfectly with.
He goes through a lot of analytics. He went into detail about my numbers and what I need to work on and things I am really good at.
You went through two coaching changes at FDU. Now you’re joining Mark Pope in his first year at Kentucky. What did you learn in those previous changes that you can bring into this situation?
Come in there and prove myself in front of everybody you know. I’m going to go in there and prove that I belong on the court and I that I am going to be a key player.
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